And opium

The idea of red cell substitutes is not new. In Ovid s Metamorphosis the witch Medea restored Jason s aged father, Aeson, by slitting his throat to let out old blood, replacing it with a magic brew she had concocted (1). Sir Christopher Wren was one of the first to apply the new knowledge about circulation to blood substitutes. In 1656 he infused ale, wine, scammony, and opium into dogs and from these efforts conceived the ideal of transfusing blood from one animal to another. Lower actually carried out the first transfusion experiments (2). 

The concept of dose response in pharmacology has been known and discussed for some time. A prescription written in 1562 for hyoscyamus and opium for sleep clearly states, If you want him to sleep less, give him less [13], It was recognized by one of the earliest physicians, Paracelsus (1493-1541), that it is only the dose that makes something beneficial or harmful All things are poison, and nothing is without poison. The Dosis alone makes a thing not poison. ... 

Note It is possible to differentiate amino acids by color on the basis of the markedly different shades produced [2, 3]. Proline and hydroxyproline, that only react weakly with ninhydrin, also yield pink-red colored derivatives [2]. Ergot alkaloids and LSD are detected by spraying with 10% hydrochloric add and then heating to 110°C for 20 min after they have been treated with the reagent [9]. Ergot alkaloids and LSD yield red to purple zones when treated in this manner other alkaloids, e.g. reserpine, emetine, quinine, strychnine, pilocarpine, atropine, scopolamine, cocaine and opium alkaloids, do not give a reaction [9]. 

Did we but know the mechanical affections of the particles of rhubarb, hemlock, opium and a man, as a watchmaker does those of a watch,. .. we should be able to tell beforehand that rhubarb will purge, hemlock kill and opium make a man sleep. 

Long before the advent of modern pharmaceutical drugs, several herbal medications were employed for the alleviation of mental disorders. Some of these are considered impractical by today s standards for treatment of psychopathology. For a short time, Freud advocated the use of cocaine to alleviate depression. Cannabis and opium were used to treat agitation. Other herbal medications are being supported by scientific research and seriously considered by the medical community. Some are offered here more for historical interest, and yet others have only recently added psychotherapeutic value to their list of potential benefits. 

Another problem for the makers of naltrexone was recently uncovered by researchers testing the drug on marijuana smokers. To the researchers surprise, people who were given naltrexone and then smoked marijuana reported that they felt greater psychotropic effects from the marijuana than if they had simply smoked the marijuana alone. In other words, while naltrexone blocks the psychotropic effects of alcohol, heroin and opium, it appears to increase the effects of marijuana. 

From a horticultural standpoint, the opium poppy is quite a beautiful plant. The poppy is a tall, thin plant of about 90-150 centimeters with little surrounding its stem. When in bloom, its four sprouting leaves can be a variety of colors— white, pink, blue, crimson, or any combination of these. These leaves surround the plant s inner pod. The pod has three layers, including an outer wall and inner compartments where its seeds are produced. Typically about the size of a golf ball, the pod contains the plant s two major products the seeds (about 1,000 for every plant), which can be cultivated into new plants, and opium. 

Coenegracht et al. [3] have introduced a four solvent system to compose mobile phases for the separation of the parent alkaloids in different medicinal dry plant materials, like Cinchona bark and Opium. Through the use of mixture designs and response surface modeling an optimal mobile phase was found for each type of plant material. These new mobile phases resulted in equally good or better separations than obtained by the procedures of the Pharmacopeias. Although separations were as predicted, the accuracy of the quantitative predictions needed to be improved. 

Fig. 16 Annual opium poppy cultivation and opium production in main producing countries, 1990-2006...

In 2005, global seizures were 342 mt opium (up from 212 in 2004), 32 mt morphine (down from 39 in 2004) and 59 mt heroin (60 in 2004). All opiate seizures combined (heroin, morphine and opium, as expressed in heroin equivalents1 2), amounted to 125 mt in 2005, representing a 3 per cent increase from 121 mt in 2004. 

In 2005, Iran made the world s largest opiate (heroin, morphine and opium in heroin equivalents) seizures (29 %), followed by Pakistan (20%), Afghanistan (15 %), China (7.5%), Turkey (7%), the Russian Federation (4%) and Tajikistan (2%). The UK4 accounted for 1.8 per cent, the USA 1.4 per cent and Italy 1.1 per cent of global opiates seizures. 

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